Scarcity of Pre-K programs dampens drive for preschool funding in Indiana

Only about one third of the state’s 2,300 childcare facilities meet guidelines for academic preparedness. The rest provide care just aimed at keeping children safe, according to a report presented Monday to a group of legislators studying preschool funding.

The report — based on data from state childcare regulators — found that preschool options are most limited in areas where they may be most needed — places with significant numbers of low-income working parents whose children are at higher risk for falling behind once they start kindergarten.

“There’s no question it’s a problem,” said Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, chair of the House Committee on Education.

Supporters of state-funded schooling for 4-year-olds want lawmakers to put $200 million toward the preschool for low-income families next year.

That would add Indiana to a list of 40 states that currently fund early childhood education. And it would dramatically expand a pilot project, approved by the Legislature this year, that will pay for public preschool in five counties beginning in January.

But supporters of preschool education worry that money could go unspent or wasted because so few facilities are ready to offer an adequate preschool curriculum.

“The focus has to be on quality,” said Behning. “Without it, we’ll have trouble pushing it into the school funding formula” during the biennial budget session that begins in January.

During Monday’s hearing, several legislators questioned the value of spending public dollars on preschool programs, citing studies that doubt the long-term benefits of the federally funded Head Start program.

“I’m astounded at the money we’ve been throwing at the problem and not seeing any results,” said Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour.

About 350,000 children under the age of 5 in Indiana have parents in the workforce, with about 145,000 of those children in some kind of school or childcare facility. Some 12,000 Hoosier children are enrolled in Head Start programs funded by the federal government, but most are in private facilities covered by tuition, religious groups or private donors.

How long it would take to qualify more of the state’s childcare facilities for preschool programs is unknown.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, which surveys and grades the facilities, has found that many communities lack accredited preschools.

In Indianapolis, for example, where the Republican mayor has proposed spending $50 million on preschool, only 15 percent of nearly 800 childcare providers offer an accredited program.

And the state’s top-rated preschool programs are concentrated in larger communities: More than half are located in just 15 of Indiana’s 500-plus cities and towns.

The need for better programs appears to be significant, according to a report presented Monday by an advisory committee of philanthropic and business interests that support preschool.

Two-thirds of Indiana children under age 5 require childcare because their parents work, the report found.

And almost half of Hoosier families have incomes that make paying for childcare a “significant burden,” the report noted. A family of three living at the poverty line would have to spend about one-third of its annual income to enroll a single child in an accredited pre-K program.

Kevin Bain, head of the Welborn Foundation and chair of the advisory committee, said Indiana already spends about $20 million a year on remediation for about 4,000 children who fail kindergarten.

He counters critics of Head Start with studies that show high-quality early childhood education pays off, including by reducing dropout rates.

“If the government is going to invest in anything, this is a pretty good bet,” he said.

But he also acknowledged the challenges in providing good programs, including low-wages and high turnover among staff. A 2010 study of childcare workers in Indiana found that preschool teachers made an average of $9 an hour and about 16 percent of them leave their jobs every year.

“Those are dog-walker kind of salaries,” Bain said.

Behning said failure to address the quality issues could doom efforts to spend more on preschool in Indiana. “I think you’ve got to do a lot more proving to people before you can put it into the budget,” he said.